Martha B. Bronson

Relations between teacher and classroom activity variables and the classroom behaviors of prekindergarten children in chapter 1 funded programs

This study of 586 children in 54 Chapter 1 funded classrooms in five geographical areas was part of a national observational study of early childhood programs. The study examined relations between eight teacher and classroom activity variables and 14 child variables. Correlational analyses indicated significant relations between program and teacher variables and childrens experiences in the classroom. More program and teacher variables were associated with childrens mastery than social experiences. Results indicated some benefits and trade offs when more teacher and classroom time was spent on teaching and on cognitively focused activities.

The Brookline Early Education Project: A 25-Year Follow-up Study of a Family-Centered Early Health and Development Intervention

Background. Clinicians, scientists, and policy makers are increasingly taking interest in the long-term outcomes of early intervention programs undertaken during the 1960s and 1970s, which were intended to improve young childrens health and educational prospects. The Brookline Early Education Project (BEEP) was an innovative, community-based program that provided health and developmental services for children and their families from 3 months before birth until entry into kindergarten. It was open to all families in the town of Brookline and to families from neighboring Boston, to include a mixture of families from suburban and urban communities. The goal of the project, which was administered by the Brookline Public Schools, was to ensure that children would enter kindergarten healthy and ready to learn. Objective. Outcome studies of BEEP and comparison children during kindergarten and second grade demonstrated the programs effectiveness during the early school years. The goal of this follow-up study was to test the hypotheses that BEEP participants, in comparison with their peers, would have higher levels of educational attainment, higher incomes, and more positive health behaviors, mental health, and health efficacy during the young adult period. Methods. Participants were young adults who were enrolled in the BEEP project from 1973 to 1978. Comparison subjects were young adults in Boston and Brookline who did not participate in BEEP but were matched to the BEEP group with respect to age, ethnicity, mothers educational level, and neighborhood (during youth). A total of 169 children were enrolled originally in BEEP and monitored through second grade. The follow-up sample included a total of 120 young adults who had participated in BEEP as children. The sample differed from the original BEEP sample in having a slightly larger proportion of college-educated mothers and a slightly smaller proportion of urban families but otherwise resembled the original BEEP sample. The demographic features of the BEEP and comparison samples were similar. The young adults were asked to complete a survey that focused on the major domains of educational/functional outcomes and health/well-being. The study used a quasi-experimental causal-comparative design involving quantitative analyses of differences between the BEEP program and comparison groups, stratified according to community. Hypotheses were tested with analysis of variance and multivariate analysis of variance techniques. Analyses of the hypotheses included the main effects of group (BEEP versus comparison sample) and community (suburban versus urban location), as well as their interaction. Results. Young adults from the suburban community had higher levels of educational attainment than did those in the urban group, with little difference between the suburban BEEP and comparison groups. In the urban group, participation in the BEEP program was associated with completing >1 additional year of schooling. Fewer BEEP young adults reported having a low income (less than

The effects of the classroom environment on the social and mastery behavior of preschool children with disabilities

20000); the income differences were accounted for largely by the urban participants. The percentage of subjects with private health insurance was significantly lower in the urban group overall, but the BEEP urban group had higher rates of private insurance than did the comparison group. More than 80% of both suburban samples reported being in very good or excellent health; the 2 urban groups had significantly lower ratings, with 64% of the BEEP group and only 41.67% of the comparison group reaching this standard. Overall, suburban participants reported more positive health behaviors, more perceived competence, and less depression. Among the urban samples, however, participation in BEEP was associated with higher levels of health efficacy, more positive health behaviors, and less depression than their peers. Conclusions. No previous study has focused as extensively on health-related outcomes of early education programs. BEEP participants living in urban communities had advantages over their peers in educational attainment, income, health, and well-being. The educational advantages found for BEEP participants in the early years of schooling included executive skills such as planning, organizing, and completing school-related tasks. It is likely that these early advantages in executive function extended beyond education-related tasks to other activities as participants became responsible for their own lives. The long-term benefits revealed in this study are consistent with the findings of previous long-term studies that indicated that participants in high-quality intervention programs are less likely to cost taxpayers money for health, educational, and public assistance services. The BEEP program appears to have somewhat blunted differences between the urban and suburban groups. The results of this study add to the growing body of findings that indicate that long-term benefits occur as the result of well-designed, intensive, comprehensive early education. The health benefits add a unique and important extension to the findings of other studies.

The Usefulness of an Observational Measure of Young Children's Social and Mastery Behaviors in Early Childhood Classrooms.

One hundred fifty-three children with disabilities (49 with Down syndrome, 57 with motor impairment, and 47 with developmental delays) were observed in a total of 148 preschool classrooms. Social interaction with peers and teachers, strategies employed in attempts to master tasks, and use of time in the classroom were recorded by trained blind observers using a modified time sampling procedure. Analyses indicated significant relations between childrens classroom behavior and three selected classroom characteristics—degree of integration, teacher-child ratio, and the extent to which children could choose activities. The findings have programmatic and policy implications for the education of young children with disabilities.

The Effects of Early Education On Children's Competence in Elementary School

This article reviews problems and issues in early childhood evaluation, and discusses advantages and disadvantages associated with using classroom observations. A specific observational measure of social and mastery task behaviors in preschool and primary-school children, the Bronson Social and Task Skill Profile (Bronson, 1985, 1991a), is described, and its usefulness is discussed by reviewing the way it has been used in several research studies.

The Impact of Early Education Measured by Classroom Observations and Teacher Ratings of Children in Kindergarten

Programs of early education have focused primarily on low-income populations and on outcomes available from traditional assessments of childrens intelligence or achievement. This evaluation used observations of childrens behavior in elementary school classrooms several years after the program services had been delivered. Childrenfrom a wide range of family backgrounds were included. The results indicated that program participants benefited particularly in the area of mastery skills or academic learning behaviors. Children with highly educated mothers showed advantages regardless ofprogram service level, but children whose mothers were less highly educated showed advantages only with relatively intensive service level.

Classrooms matter : Relations between the classroom environment and the social and mastery behavior of five-year-old children with disabilities

A comprehensive birth-to-kindergarten program was evaluated by classroom observa tions and teacher ratings of 132 participant children and 366 comparison children during fall and spring of the kindergarten year. The observations revealed significant advantages for the participants in both fall and spring on a majority of indices, particularly for behaviors categorized as social and use of time. The teacher ratings indicated few overall differences, with advantages for participants only in the fall on a prereading scale. A logistic regression model was used to adjust for possible effects of childrens background characteristics; advantages for participants over comparison children were consistent across background characteristics. On the teacher ratings, the adjustments revealed significant interactions: advantages of participants over comparison children were found for subgroups traditionally associated with having difficulties in kindergarten.

Classroom behaviors of preschool children with and without developmental disabilities

One hundred and fifteen children with disabilities (42 with Down syndrome, 37 with motor impairment, and 36 with developmental delays) were observed in a total of 115 classrooms. Categories for coding childrens behaviors in mastery tasks, social activities with peers, and compliance with teachers were recorded by trained observers, blind to the study hypotheses using a modified time sampling procedure. Composite scores representing (1) engagement and skill in completing mastery tasks, (2) engagement and skill in social interaction with peers, and (3) compliance with teachers were constructed from the observation categories. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that specific classroom characteristics (i.e., class size, inclusiveness of class enrollment, teacher-child ratio, and percentage of time spent in one-on-one instruction) predicted performance on these behaviors above and beyond childrens cognitive performance.

Planning as a factor in school achievement

Abstract This study compares the classroom social and task-mastery behaviors of two groups of 3-year-old children with disabilities (n = 49 with Down syndrome andn = 33 with mild to moderate mental retardation) with two groups of typically developing children (n = 41 at 2 years old andn = 47 at 3 years old). Both samples of children with disabilities demonstrated lower levels of task mastery skills in comparison to typically developing children. The social behaviors of both samples of children with disabilities were more advanced than the 2-year-old comparison sample but less advanced than the 3-year-olds. Children with developmental disabilities were more involved in interactions with teachers than typically developing children. Children with Down syndrome exhibited some differences, especially in social interaction, in comparison to children with other forms of mental retardation.